In traditional print media, the term "agate" was originally used to refer to any information printed in columns 1.5 inches wide in 5 point type (e.g., stock quotes). Today, agate is used to refer to time-sensitive, reference information that is not read linearly. Examples are telephone listings, classified advertisements, weather reports, sports scores and statistics, market data, books and recordings in print, and television and film listings.
Some types of agate require continual updating in the short term, like stock quotes, while other types have a longer life, like travel information and business directories. The newspaper industry is one of the primary suppliers of agate. Newspapers provide listings of stock quotes, television and radio programming, film schedules, and classified ads. A second group of agate suppliers are book publishers. From travel guides to books in print, a wide variety of books provide agate information that changes monthly or yearly.
Although many types of agate are traditionally found in publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and books), all agate can be placed into large indexed databases. Because agate is non-linear reference material, it is often more efficient to search for agate in a database, than to scan columns of a newspaper.
One of the largest pools of databases and electronic media is found on The Internet. The World Wide Web (Web) is a two-year-old protocol used to create and publish documents on the Internet. Web documents may contain graphics, text, sound, video or any combination of these. Web documents can include "hyperlinks" which are highlighted areas of information in one document that, when user-selected, open a related document. In late 1994, "forms" were added to the Web to make it interactive. Previously, Web pages could only be used to display information or point to other Web sites where information was available. The 1994 change allowed those publishing Web pages to publish "forms", i.e., documents that include blank spaces to be completed by users and then returned to the publishing computer, thus allowing interactivity.
Publishing information on the Web requires two software components. Electronic publishers must run HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server software. Users scanning or searching on the Internet must use Web browser software. A variety of firms including Microsoft, Oracle, Netscape Communications, Spyglass, Spry, Netcom, and EINet all distribute Web software.
A variety of businesses are now offering information, some of it agate, on the Internet. One example is newspaper distribution on the Internet. However, the agate found in newspapers is at least twelve hours old. In the case of stock quotes, the information found usually recaps trading for the previous day, listing the high, low and closing prices as well as the number of shares traded. While this information is sufficient for tracking investments, investors often require real-time information to trade on the market.
Other examples of businesses that offer agate information on the Internet are Movie Phone whose World Wide Web Site is WWW.777film.com and Securities APL (at WWW.secapl.com) which allows users to look up individual stock quotes (delayed 15 minutes).
To date, however, there is no general agate provider on the Web.